ICKY BOYFRIENDS / A Love Obscene (Menlo Park)
Their first gig was in the late 80's opening for the Melvins and Thinking
Fellers in their hometown of San Francisco, and they cleared the room. A
guy who put out their first single had to live in his van for doing so.
They starred in a film called "I'm Not Fascinating" which was about 500
times cheaper and 500 times better than the "Great Rock N' Roll Swindle".
Thus is the legend of the Icky Boyfriends. Call it spazz rock, retard
rock, panic rock, whatever, the Ickies were key players in SF's anti-scene
scene in the 1990's and this overview of their 2LPs plus odds and ends is
well overdue. Totally primitive odes to PCP, cops, hatred of Tower
Records, guys who collect recycled bottles, and Nixon aides who were
quoted as saying they'd rather have their toenails pulled out than rat.
They have a sensitive side as well, and "Nervous
Guy" (real audio from Terre T's show) speaks volumes more than your
average college rock crybaby staple. We demand a Sockeye box set next.

COUNTRY TEASERS / Live Album/ (In the Red)
Meanwhile, in Scotland, the Country Teasers also care enough to bring you
the very best, despite the fact they have as well been rejected by their
scene, that is, the burgeoning rootsy-cowpunk-garage circuit that you
would think might embrace them more than the indie rock world (see their
3.2 out of 10 rating in Pitchfork). Often making the Mekons look like
Crucial Youth in comparison, the Teasers' main ambition is to entertain
themselves while reaching deep down inside their plastered souls, and more
of than not, that is quite entertaining within itself as testified by this
live disc. Between begging for drinks, responding to the audience
screaming "you suck" while they disembowel Randy Newman's "Short
People" (real audio). They also take on New Order, the Butthole
Surfers (Real audio of "Moving To
Florida"), and even Swedish brutes the Brainbombs, which makes perfect
sense.

CONTEMPORARY JAZZ QUINTET / Actions 1966-67
(Atavistic/ UMS)
Atavistic's Unheard Music Series continues to do wonders in tracing the
geneology of American/European free jazz rarities, pulling from a rich
well of out-of-print records that voiced unique indentities but may have
gotten lost in the shadow of others, until now. The CJQ formed in Denmark
in the late 1950's playing hard-bop until the doors blew open all over
Europe with the advent of Ornette Coleman's records and all the American
heavies who took up residencies on the Continent (and in particular Albert
Ayler who came through Scandinavia). These 1966-67 recordings show a fiery
unit in total harmony with what was going on not only in the formative FMP
camp in Germany (where trumpeter Hugh Steinmetz would later wind up to
record with Manfred Schoof) but with the rest of the free jazz revolution
happening in the USA on labels like ESP. This reissue remains a stunning
lost gem on par with much of both those labels' high point moments, and is
especially fantastic due to the presence of a bonafide musical saw
courtesy of Niels Harrit. Here's one track featuring Harrit prominently,
"Action
#VI" (real audio).